OIL PULLING

So let’s talk about oral health today. There are MANY scientific studies which have been done over the last 10 years or so which support the idea that most disease actually starts in the MOUTH! That’s right…your mouth holds a key your wellness. Huh!

What exactly does that mean for us? Well, when the wrong bacteria have a place to thrive, or when the levels of your mouth bacteria get out of balance, the conditions for disease are created. The longer these conditions remain, the more disease can get a strong hold, and eventually wreak havoc with your health.

A case in point is my husband. When he began to have severe health problems, the functional medicine doctor we went to told us he needed to see a special dentist who could assess whether his mouth was the cause of his symptoms. When we did see a “biological” dentist, it WAS found that he had significant areas of bacterial and fungal growth in cavitations (not cavities) which were causing many of his symptoms. Once these areas were dealt with, his health rapidly improved. Although the mouth was not the ONLY problem my husband had, his health did dramatically improve once the mouth was properly taken care of.

So, short of finding a biological dentist and having special work done on the mouth, how can we prevent or help to avoid the problems in the first place? One ancient practise is called “oil pulling”. On Webmd.com, in an article by Colleen Oakley exploring the effectiveness of oil pulling, Jessica T. Emery, DMD says, “This oral therapy is a type of Ayurvedic medicine [a traditional Indian system] that dates back 3,000 years. It involves swishing approximately 1 tablespoon of oil — typically coconut, sesame, or sunflower oil — in your mouth for about 20 minutes and then spitting it out.”

“Unlike some so-called natural home remedies, it’s not a practice that’s based on pseudo-science. Recent studies show that oil pulling helps against gingivitis, plaque, and microorganisms that cause bad breath. How? “Most microorganisms inhabiting the mouth consist of a single cell,” Emery says. “Cells are covered with a lipid, or fatty, membrane, which is the cell’s skin. When these cells come into contact with oil, a fat, they naturally adhere to each other.”

Here’s how we do our oil pulling. First, I bought these silicone moulds to make the process easier. Aren’t they cute?

Next, I fill the molds with pure, cold pressed virgin coconut oil. This makes it easy to get just the right amount of oil each time for the oil pulling.

Then I put the molds into the freezer. Once the coconut oil is frozen, I pop the coconut oil shapes into a glass container, and put it back into the freezer.

Each morning, we take out 1 coconut oil shape and use it for oil pulling. If this amount is too much for you, just bite the shape into 2 parts and use one of them for your daily pull.

To do the oil pulling, you “chew” the coconut oil and swish it around in your mouth. The oil becomes liquid very quickly, so you don’t need to worry that it is frozen…once you begin to chew, it is no longer solid. You chew and swish for 5 – 20 minutes. You’ll probably want to begin with 5 minutes. If you want to work up to 20 minutes, I find it’s easier if I’m doing it while in the shower. Of course, I have my little container with me to spit into in case I have reached my tolerance limit for chewing!

Once you have completed your 5 – 20 minutes of chewing and swishing, you’ll want to spit the coconut oil into a container, to dispose of the oil in your compost or in your garbage. DO NOT ALLOW THE COCONUT OIL TO GO DOWN THE SINK!!! It will clog your drains – guaranteed!

You can do your oil pulling every day, or you can do it several times a week. The benefits of oil pulling may not be obvious to you, but it will assist you in your quest for health and wellness! Happy pulling!